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Operation Demetrius

In ‘Operation Demetrius’ (the British Army name for the internment arrest operation) in the early hours of 9 August, soldiers and police men smashed into homes and arrested 342 men across the north. Their intelligence proved faulty. The operation didn’t significantly damage the IRA. Sixteen men were arrested in Derry, not all of them republicans.

Rioting erupted across Free Derry, and barricades again surrounded the area. A British soldier was shot dead by the IRA while on sentry duty at the British Army base in Bligh’s Lane, and Hugh Herron (31) was shot dead by a soldier in Henrietta Street.

News of the torture of internees soon leaked out, increasing resentment and resistance in areas like Free Derry.

Anger increased with news that a number of those arrested – “The Hooded Men” – had been tortured.

On 18 August came the British Army response to reborn Free Derry. Over 1,300 troops, with helicopters and armoured cars, began dismantling barricades. PIRA Volunteer Eamonn Lafferty (19) was killed in a gun battle during this operation. Barricades were replaced as quickly as they were dismantled.

John Hume and two other SDLP leaders were arrested during a protest against the British incursions. Annette McGavigan (14) was shot dead by the British Army on 6 September, the day the SDLP three appeared in court.

In early September, the British Army embarked on large scale incursions into Free Derry. Gary Gormley (3) was crushed to death in his pram by an armoured car on 9 September. His death is officially recorded as a traffic accident. On 14 September, William McGreanery (41) was shot dead by British soldiers stationed in the army observation post in Bligh’s Lane. On 6 November, mother-of-six Kathleen Thompson (47) was shot dead by a British soldier as she stood in her own back garden in Rathlin Drive, Creggan.

By the end of 1971 seven British soldiers had been killed in Free Derry. One IRA volunteer had been killed in action. British soldiers had killed eight civilians.

About the Museum of Free Derry

The Museum of Free Derry tells the story of how a largely working class community rose up against the years of oppression it had endured. The museum and archive has become an integral part of Ireland’s radical and civil rights heritage.

The museum also tells the story of Bloody Sunday, the day when the British Army committed mass murder on the streets of the Bogside. It tells the story of how the people of Derry, led by the families of the victims, overcame the injustice and wrote a new chapter in the history of civil rights, which has become a source of international inspiration.

The museum is a public space where the concept of Free Derry can be explored in both historic and contemporary contexts. Free Derry is about our future together as much as it is about the past. The struggle of Free Derry is part of a wider struggle in Ireland and internationally for freedom and equality for all.